A last-minute Shem Curry goal handed Hampton Rovers a one-point victory over Old Geelong at Boss James Reserve on Saturday.
At half time, it was all doom and gloom. While the Rovers trailed by just the three goals, it should have been a far greater margin than that if not for the Old Geelong players making simple mistakes that Rovers’ supporters had come accustomed to over the last few weeks. Coach Hughes wasn’t happy and the boys needed to lift their efforts from 6/10 to 10/10. No one avoided the criticism except for Shem Curry, who the coach described as not the quickest but the one player who was not prepared to let his player get the ball without a fight.
The Rovers had been winning the taps but not the clearances and while the boys had been attacking, it almost seemed that no player was prepared to have the shot at goal. The extra handpass that missed the target, the unnecessary pass that fell short and the baulk that failed – they all led to Hampton’s inability to put a score on the board in that first half. The exception was probably Ant Folino who, as the coach said, seemed to be running over the ground while the rest of the forwards were ploughing through it.
After half time, it was a different side. Yes, when the visitors kicked the first goal of the quarter at the 12 minute mark, favoured by the strong breeze towards the David Street end, some had the fear that the floodgates may open, but to the boys’ credit, they replied late in the quarter with a goal by Cam Hetherington to have the margin at the final break at 21 points. James Prosser and Zac Donald were playing well and controlling the stoppages and we seemed to be reading Charlie Thorpe’s taps and using his dominance. The trio of Leigh Fletcher, Christian Carnovale and Cowboy McNeill were getting more into the game and you could see a little uncertainty creeping into the opposition’s play. The tackles were starting to stick, and to keep Old Geelong to one goal for the quarter was a fine effort.
At the final break, the coach made further changes, Fletcher to the wing, Zac Donald to a back flank and the skipper went somewhere back as well. Shem Curry moved from the back pocket to on the ball and Matty Rieniets was moved forward. It wasn’t the best start to the quarter when an error on the wing resulted in an Old Geelong goal that made the margin the greatest it had been all day. But the young Rovers side hadn’t given up the fight.
Matty Rieniets came to the fore and kicked the next two goals – one a snap from just out of the square and the other from cool delivery after marking the Ben Kneebush pass. The opposition couldn’t get it inside their forward 50 for the rest of the quarter with fine defence from Ryan Fogarty, Luke Deville and Liam McCartney, who are all improving as each week passes.
By the 26 minute mark, Hampton had kicked 2.4 to the opposition’s 1.0 and were dominating the inside 50 stats. It was hard, tough footy with the Rovers on top but unable to score and the opposition struggling to get the ball outside of the 50m zone. A free to James Prosser on the 50m line brought the crowd to its feet and his good kick was rewarded with a goal. Minutes later, it appeared that Shem Curry’s shot for goal was through but to the crowd and players disappointment, the field umpire overruled the goal umpire and declared it touched.
Less than a goal down and just over a minute on the clock, again, Shem picked up the loose ball and, surrounded by a huge pack of players, executed the baulk that Cyril would have been proud, and kicked the right foot over the shoulder check-side punt that will live in Rovers memories forever. The final few moments of the game passed and the siren blew to huge cheers from the Rovers faithful.
A five point win to give Hampton a 3-3 record heading into this week’s game against ladder-leaders Old Haileybury at Princes Park Caulfield. The Rovers sit seventh on the VAFA Premier C ladder, but equal third with five teams all on 12 points.
HAMPTON ROVERS 0.2 2.6 3.9 7.13 (55)
OLD GEELONG 4.3 5.6 6.12 7.12 (54)
Goal Kickers: M. Rieniets 3, J. Prosser, C. Hetherington, S. Curry, A. Folino
Best Players: S. Curry, Z. Donald, L. Deville, C. Carnovale, J. Prosser, A. Folino
The Reserves put in a great effort but fell just short to Old Geelong. Coach Anton Duddy said the first three quarters were the best of the year. The margin was just two points at the final change and with the benefit of the breeze in the last, the Rovers were in with a real chance.
It was the Ash Fisher show all day – he kicked five goals, and the Rovers midfield of Jack Zaina, Josh Pavlou, Rick Jones and Ben Clarke were all playing well. Down back, the boys were holding firm. Luke Morcom moved from his customary half back flank to the key post at full back played his best game of the year on the OB key forward. Great to see an old face in Jesse Donald at the club and playing his first game. Ben Kezilas was his usual reliable self down back with Tim Jones and Nick Murnane showing some skills in the forward line. In the end, the Rovers went down by seven points and will be looking forward to the return of key players from injury.
The Under 19 (2) side had a huge 112-point win over Old Paradians away from home. That’s the second win of the season for the team and they now sit equal fifth with four other teams. Coach Sam Care said it was a good all-round performance by the boys. Will Wood booted seven goals with both Ash Hoar and Ari Gahan chipping in with three each. Jack Daley was great down back and his reliable clearances were a feature on his play. Congratulations to Julian Kozulin who kicked his first goal with the club. And a highlight of the day was Vinnie Diesel’s checkside shot from the boundary that split the middle!
John Cesario’s Under 19 (1) team took on rivals Ormond at EE Gunn and went down by 14 points. The Rovers hit the ground running in the first quarter and by the end of the first 25 minutes we had a comfortable lead. Of course, the wind did help and in the second, Ormond hit back but we still had a comfortable 10 point lead at the main break. Taylor Chrisp was playing his best game of the year and our best on for the day. Magnus Anderson in the ruck was holding sway and with midfielders Chrisp and Jensen Hensley playing well we were confident of a strong second half. Kicking with the wind in the third we didn’t make the most of our chances and the 2.5 we kicked should have been 6.1 but not to be. In any event we were 16 points up and although the breeze had increased it was anyone’s game. It turned out that it wasn’t to be ours! The fitter Ormond outfit ran all over us in the last quarter to get home by a couple of goals. A disappointing end to the morning. Others who played well were Sam Slykhous down back, Finn Garraway-McMaster in his first game back since round 1 eased into the game and Joel Melnjak did well on debut. An opportunity to notch a win slipped through our fingers.
The Women’s team had a narrow loss to Mazenod on Sunday at Elsternwick Park. Read the full report.
